Integrating lean and agile practices for achieving global sustainability goals in Indian manufacturing industries

The rising global pressure from stakeholders regarding climate change and its implications for the various aspects of manufacturing have pressured industrial leaders to develop greater environmental responsibility. This has motivated companies and researchers to identify and incorporate various strategies for ecologically sustainable operations. Analyzing the relationship between 'lean' and 'agile' (leagile) practices appears to be a tangible way to become more sustainable, specifically in an emerging economy such as India. The literature has investigated lean and agile practices for enhancing sustainability, although most studies have not adequately framed their analyses of both aspects simultaneously. This limitation of previous studies is the motivation for the present work. The current study expands the scope of previous literature by identifying and prioritizing leagile practices through the lens of sustainability. This study uses a combination of fuzzy set theory and the best-worst method (BWM) for identifying and prioritizing the leagile practices that are effective for Indian industrial leaders. The study is validated for the Indian automotive sector so that industry leaders can implement the requirements of the 'Green India Movement', as recommended by governmental decrees.